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I'm pro scooters and dockerless bikes in general -- but I also don't really buy into the logic of this article. In the key markets for these things - there is

I'm pro scooters and dockerless bikes in general -- but I also don't really buy into the logic of this article. In the key markets for these things - there is no presumption of parking. I imagine avoiding parking is the #1/#2 reason for most users would use this service (I'd include ride sharing here too). I specifically don't have a car in San Francisco because I have nowhere to park it. When dockerless bikes were launched in other markets (e.g. Sydney, Melbourne) it really was a mess. Bikes thrown in rivers. Stacked up as hazards. In trees. On the top of stuff in general. And Melbourne is a much more bike-friendly city than many North American ones. But it was still a huge bomb. It's probably sensible for the SFMTA to at least consider the consequences and stage a rollout. The SFMTA was actually being pretty co-operative. And for a government agency, they were moving pretty fast - i.e. getting stuff going in weeks/months. Instead, one of the companies launched early on St Patrick's Day. When the others felt they were losing first mover advantage, they did too.

mrharrison 8y ago
As a biker, having to park my bike at Walgreens and seeing the same Jump bikes parked at the bike stand, from the day before, and nowhere to park my bike is definitely a nuisance. Didn't really encounter this issue before, people normally come and go with their bikes. As a walker, when entitled scooter peeps jump on the sidewalk and start whizzing around you, and at almost hit you, it's a nuisance as well. I like the Ford Go Bikes/Citi Bikes, it's organized and it's a proven system in NYC and other cities, that doesn't burden others. Except those who lose parking spots in their neighborhood to docking stations.
- woah 8y ago
  The inconvenience and danger caused by cars is so much more. You have to be on alert to avoid being killed by them. Huge swaths of valuable city real estate are devoted to free or low priced subsidized storage of cars for entitled car owners. It's astounding that this has gone on for so long and it needs to be stopped.
  - Angostura 8y ago
    I seldom see cars driving on the pavement.
    - Nursie 8y ago
      Yet cars kill many pedestrians on pavements every year.
    - stupidcar 8y ago
      When bikes are ridden on the pavement, it's usually because road design and/or car drivers are making the road too dangerous for them. If you think about it, the pavement is not somewhere the average cyclist wants to be any more than a pedestrian wants them there. Even without people filling them, pavements are irregular, uneven and cluttered spaces, optimised for slow-moving bipeds who can stop, start and turn on a dime. If there's a safe roadway available, cyclists will use it.
      - comicjk 8y ago
        If my bike can't use the road, I dismount and walk it. Riding on the sidewalk is illegal. I don't begrudge anyone who does it perforce - say, if there are no alternative roads and they need to get to work - but I do begrudge cyclists who seem to forget that dismounting is even possible.
  - burbuk 8y ago
    The alternative to a rented bike isn't a car though, it's a bike.
- golemiprague 8y ago
  Maybe instead of docking stations the cities can create designated areas for rental bicycle parking and anything parked outside will be confiscated. That will enforce those companies to keep charging the users if they don't park it in a designated area.
woolvalley 8y ago
For me its not really parking the things, it's the theft. I don't want to carry 2 - 3 locks so assholes wont steal my tires, seats and so on. I also don't want to take up a lot of space on the train with my bike.

mrharrison 8y ago

As a biker, having to park my bike at Walgreens and seeing the same Jump bikes parked at the bike stand, from the day before, and nowhere to park my bike is definitely a nuisance. Didn't really encounter this issue before, people normally come and go with their bikes. As a walker, when entitled scooter peeps jump on the sidewalk and start whizzing around you, and at almost hit you, it's a nuisance as well. I like the Ford Go Bikes/Citi Bikes, it's organized and it's a proven system in NYC and other cities, that doesn't burden others. Except those who lose parking spots in their neighborhood to docking stations.

woah 8y ago
The inconvenience and danger caused by cars is so much more. You have to be on alert to avoid being killed by them. Huge swaths of valuable city real estate are devoted to free or low priced subsidized storage of cars for entitled car owners. It's astounding that this has gone on for so long and it needs to be stopped.
- Angostura 8y ago
  I seldom see cars driving on the pavement.
  - Nursie 8y ago
    Yet cars kill many pedestrians on pavements every year.
  - stupidcar 8y ago
    When bikes are ridden on the pavement, it's usually because road design and/or car drivers are making the road too dangerous for them. If you think about it, the pavement is not somewhere the average cyclist wants to be any more than a pedestrian wants them there. Even without people filling them, pavements are irregular, uneven and cluttered spaces, optimised for slow-moving bipeds who can stop, start and turn on a dime. If there's a safe roadway available, cyclists will use it.
    - comicjk 8y ago
      If my bike can't use the road, I dismount and walk it. Riding on the sidewalk is illegal. I don't begrudge anyone who does it perforce - say, if there are no alternative roads and they need to get to work - but I do begrudge cyclists who seem to forget that dismounting is even possible.
- burbuk 8y ago
  The alternative to a rented bike isn't a car though, it's a bike.
golemiprague 8y ago
Maybe instead of docking stations the cities can create designated areas for rental bicycle parking and anything parked outside will be confiscated. That will enforce those companies to keep charging the users if they don't park it in a designated area.

woolvalley 8y ago

For me its not really parking the things, it's the theft. I don't want to carry 2 - 3 locks so assholes wont steal my tires, seats and so on. I also don't want to take up a lot of space on the train with my bike.